Angkas was born out of George Royeca and wife Angeline Tham’s desire to professionalize the existing habal-habal or motorcycle taxi, which was mainly utilized in the provinces before it became a staple in the metro.
Angkas CEO George Royeca has added another feather to his cap when he was recently recognized as the Emerging Entrepreneur of 2022 during the Entrepreneur of the Year Philippines awarding ceremony at the Grand Hyatt Manila.
The transport advocate was given the recognition because of his invaluable efforts in establishing the country’s first motorcycle ride-hailing platform, as well as pushing for the professionalization of motorcycles as a form of transport.
“I stand here on a collective struggle of thousands, millions, of motorcycle owners na araw-araw nag ne-negosyo para sa kanilang pamilya. Maraming nasa informal sector ang hindi nare-recognize ng ating lipunan at yun po ang ginawa namin sa Angkas—ni-recognize lang po natin na if you invest in the Filipino people, they will become productive citizens of the country,”Royeca said during his acceptance speech.
In all of his interviews, Royeca, 40, never fails to mention the phrase “solve a problem”. It has been a staple in all of his answers and casual statements not because it’s part of a calculated spiel but because it’s among the many things that keep his engine running.
As someone who’s accustomed to be constantly thinking of solutions, it is no surprise that George, also known as “Mister Angkas”, has accomplished a multitude of plans, projects and advocacies that didn’t only serve his businesses, what with the positive effects trickling down to the community that surrounded him as well. In fact, Royeca through Angkas, has created 30,000 livelihood opportunities. And over the next 10 years, he wants to create million more jobs for over 18 million motorcycle owners in the country.
Angkas, a homegrown brand, has received various recognition, such as the Airspeed Service Excellence Company of the Year in the Asia CEO Awards 2022 Circle of Excellence, the winner of one gold and two bronze Stevie Awards in the 2019 International Business Awards, and the Digital Disruptor for Philippines in the 2019 Philippines IDC Digital Transformation Awards.
As if his all these achievements and awards weren’t enough, George was also a Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) awardee of 2020. As a passionate advocate and an innovative entrepreneur, the former chief investment officer of Solar Entertainment and CFO of an airline company called Skyjet, and the founder of Group of Five Creative Concepts never imagined he’d be receiving such a prestigious award as TOYM for simply pouring his heart and talents out for the benefit of fellow Filipinos.
“I’m simply a figurehead of a community on whose shoulders I stand on,” shared Royeca. “I spent these years helping to push for rights and recognition of motorcycle riders and passengers, but it is because of our collective struggle that I am recognized.”
It is no mystery that Angkas was born out of George and his wife Angeline Tham’s desire to professionalize the existing habal-habal or motorcycle taxi, which was mainly utilized in the provinces before it became a staple in the metro. Habal-habal is risky despite the many advantages it presents, one being an answer to the country’s worsening traffic situation.
But the problem-solving George saw the hump as an opportunity. Having experienced Philippine traffic themselves, George and Angeline invested on the idea of professionalizing the existing habal-habal, innovate on it using new technology, and make it safer for the masses to use as one of the primary modes of transportation in the country.
With this, he not only pours his efforts into ensuring that Angkas riders are fully trained for safety and security. He also makes sure that the Angkas passengers are well-informed, as to how to properly and safely mount and ride a motorcycle, as well.
Hardly seeing himself as self-made, George is proud to say that he is composed of different moments of highs and lows, laudable achievements and inspiring failures and life lessons from the dinner table-conversations with his late father.
For him, growing up was also about hard work versus pure talent. Having dyslexia at an early age, he was aware that he had to re-read and double his efforts in most of the things he does. “When I started to accept the fact that I had to work harder than anybody else, that’s what really made a difference,” George, the third of four siblings, shared in one of his interviews.
When asked about the lessons he could share with budding entrepreneurs and everyone else in general, he always has this to say: “Solve a problem. Learn to adapt and pivot,” and “Know when your idea sucks. Criticism is a blessing, take it well.”
